Glove

ABSTRACT

A glove having a plurality of finger portions, wherein only two or three of the finger portions are truncated so that when the glove is worn on a hand an end portion of the underlying fingers are uncovered.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The present application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/378,097 filed on May 16, 2002.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002]FIG. 1 is a view of the bottom or palm side of a glove according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0003]FIG. 2 is a view of the top or knuckle side of a glove according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0004]FIG. 3 is a view of the bottom or palm side of the glove shown in FIG. 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0005]FIG. 4 is a view of the top or knuckle side of a glove according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0006]FIG. 5 is a view of the top or knuckle side of a glove according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0007]FIG. 6 is a view of the bottom or palm side of the glove of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION

[0008] The present invention is directed to a glove. The glove is suitable for use in a variety of different endeavors including, but not limited to, certain athletic endeavors including, for example, golf, baseball, tennis, lacrosse or any other sport in which gloves are typically warn. The glove may also have utility outside of the field of athletics such as, for example, construction, auto driving, fashion etc.

[0009] In a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, a glove 10 is provided. The glove includes a base portion and finger portions. The glove 10 includes a series of indicating lines located on the palm side of the base portion and the inside of the fingers. As shown in FIG. 1, the lower lines 11, 12, 13 are located on the upper palm surface of the base portion glove. The glove also may include an upper line 14 that runs diagonally across the lower portion of the finger portion of the glove.

[0010] The lines are positioned to indicate to the wearer of the glove whether or not the glove is properly gripping a sporting device.

[0011] For example, when used by a golfer, the lines 11-14 on the glove 10 may be used to indicate whether or not a proper grip is being used. More particularly, the four lines 11-14 indicate whether a weak medium or a strong grip is being utilized. For example, when the glove 10 is positioned around the shaft of a golf club so that only the lower most line 11 and upper most line 14 are visible the wearer of the glove is informed that a weak grip has been placed on the club. If the shaft of the club is positioned so that the lower two lines 11, 12 are visible then the wearer of the glove is informed that a medium (or neutral) grip is being used. When the shaft of the club is positioned so that all three of the lower lines 11, 12, 13 visible to the golfer, it is clear that a strong grip is being utilized.

[0012] For heightened indication each of the lines may be a different color.

[0013] As an alternative to lines, another indicating device may be used. For example, different colored leather strips could be used to indicate the appropriate positioning for the grip. The leather strips could be sewn or glued together. As another alternative, shaped indicia or symbols may be used such as circles, stars, squares for example.

[0014] Preferably, the golf glove 10 is made of high quality leather. However, included within the scope on the present invention is the use of other material such as synthetic leather or nylon, LYCRA, COOLMAX or suede for example. Any combination of the aforementioned materials may be employed, as the scope of the present invention is not limited to the material of the glove.

[0015] A second embodiment of the present invention is disclosed in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, according to the present invention an athletic glove 20 is provided. The athletic glove 20 includes readily identifiable indicia located on the knuckle area of the glove. These indicia are similar to those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,353 (incorporated by reference herein). It should be noted that the knuckle indicia are optional and may or may not be included in combination with the gloves shown in FIGS. 1-6, for example.

[0016] The athletic glove 20 also includes truncated fingers 25 which allow the wearer's fingers to extend out of the glove. In a preferred embodiment, the finger(s) 25 are sewn or sealed at the open end to reduce the likelihood that the glove will unravel or fray. The glove further includes a conventional finger 26.

[0017] In the example shown in FIG. 2, the glove 20 includes three truncated fingers 25 and a single conventional finger 26. However, it is within the scope of the present invention to configure the glove to include one, two or three truncated fingers with the remaining figures being conventional in the manner of finger 26. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, glove 20 may include indicating lines 22, 23 on the palm surface of the glove. The indicating lines may be as shown in FIG. 3, or as shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the glove may include the truncated fingers without the lines on the palm. Similarly, a glove having a lined palm may omit the truncated fingers (see e.g., FIG. 1).

[0018] The use of truncated fingers allows the wearer of the glove to properly apply grip pressure to the athletic instrument being used. For example, when the athletic glove 20 is used by a golfer, the golfer naturally applies the proper pressure to the club on the three exposed fingers 25. Similarly, as shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4, when used on the right hand of a golfer, the middle two fingers of the glove are preferably truncated. Unlike a bowling glove, the glove of FIG. 4, includes complete coverage for the palm and thumb.

[0019]FIGS. 2 and 4 are merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention for use with golf. The scope of the present invention extends to other uses of truncated gloves such as, for example, football or baseball where cold weather may dictate the use of gloves by athletes who throw balls in practice or games. For use in those situations, the gloves could be modified to include truncated fingers positioned where “feel” of the equipment or ball was desired.

[0020] The lines or bands discussed above are preferably integrated into the surface of the gloves 10, 20. For example, the lines or bands may be formed by printing onto the surface of the glove or through stitching. However, if stitching is used, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the glove may be formed so that the stitching conforms to the surface of the glove so that the contour of the glove remains smooth to thereby ensure that the glove complies with various sporting regulations such as the Rules of Golf.

[0021] The scope of the present invention includes combining the glove of FIG. 2 with the glove of FIG. 4 in a matched pair. Thus, the glove worn on the left hand (e.g., for a right-handed golfer) would include truncated fingers on the last three figures (see FIG. 2). The glove worn on the right hand would include truncated middle two fingers (see FIG. 4). Another embodiment of the present invention includes a glove in which only the thumb and forefinger (i.e., pointer or index finger) are trunctated. This alternative embodiment could be used in a matched pair with the glove of FIG. 2.

[0022]FIGS. 5 and 6 are directed to an alternative embodiment of the present invention. The glove 40 of FIGS. 5 and 6 contains two additional indicia that can be used in combination with all, some or none of the features mentioned above. The first indicia 50 is a J-shaped line running along the side of the thumb portion of the glove 40. The J-shaped 50 is positioned so that when the wearer of the glove is gripping a golf club in the proper manner the J-shaped indicia lies adjacent to and along the crease in the palm of the opposite hand.

[0023] The glove 40 also includes a V-shaped indicia 60. The V-shaped indicia 60 is positioned on the glove 40 so that when the wearer of the glove is properly gripping a golf club the point of the V is directed to the shoulder of the opposite arm. According to yet another alternative embodiment of the present invention, instead of a V-shaped indicia, the glove may include a V-shaped cutout (not shown) that would point in the same direction as the V-shaped indicia 60 of FIG. 5.

[0024] In alternative embodiments of the present invention, the glove may include ridges or other raised protrusions that would provide a gripping guide surface to the wearer. This alternative design may be useful as a training aid or during competitive play in many different sports or athletic endeavors. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A glove comprising a plurality of finger portions, wherein only two of the finger portions are truncated so that when the glove is worn on a hand an end portion of the underlying fingers are uncovered.
 2. The glvoe of claim 1, wherein one of the two truncated finger portions is a thumb portion.
 3. The glove of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of substantially parallel indicating lines located on a palm side of the glove.
 4. The glove of claim 1, further comprising a plurality independent knuckle indicating indicia, each indicia being positioned on the rear surface of the glove so that when the glove is worn each indicia is in overlying association with the position of one of the knuckles of the user and when the glove is in secure holding engagement with the shaft of a golf club, each indicia is visually distinguishable from each other for enabling the user to immediately determine the position of each knuckle relative to the shaft of the golf club.
 5. A glove comprising a plurality of finger portions wherein only three of the finger portions are truncated so that when the glove is worn on a hand an end portion of the underlying fingers are uncovered.
 6. The glove of claim 5, further comprising a plurality of substantially parallel indicating lines located on a palm side of the glove.
 7. The glove of claim 5, further comprising a plurality independent knuckle indicating indicia, each indicia being positioned on the rear surface of the glove so that when the glove is worn each indicia is in overlying association with the position of one of the knuckles of the user and when the glove is in secure holding engagement with the shaft of a golf club, each indicia is visually distinguishable from each other for enabling the user to immediately determine the position of each knuckle relative to the shaft of the golf club.
 8. A glove comprising: a base portion; a plurality of finger portions; a plurality of substantially parallel indicating lines located on a palm side of the glove; wherein at least one of the indicating lines is positioned on the finger portions; and wherein the indicating lines are positioned so that a wearer of the glove can determine from looking at the glove whether or not the glove is properly positioned on a shaft of a golf club.
 9. The glove of claim 8, further comprising a plurality independent knuckle indicating indicia, each indicia being positioned on the rear surface of the glove so that when the glove is worn each indicia is in overlying association with the position of one of the knuckles of the wearer and when the glove is in secure holding engagement with the shaft of the golf club, each indicia is visually distinguishable from each other for enabling the wearer to immediately determine the position of each knuckle relative to the shaft of the golf club.
 10. The glove of claim 8, wherein only three of the finger portions are truncated so that when the glove is worn on a hand an end portion of the underlying fingers are uncovered. 